Re: Can Someone Tell Me.....

Hi. I am the original poster. This site didn't keep my original login, so I had to add the 2004.

Just to clear some things up, so you all will have a better understanding:

The ambulance bill of $800.00 was back in 2006, actually filed the end of 06. It was a judgement, because it never got paid. (This was before we were married.) Someone told me that wasn't that big of a deal, since it was an old debt, and would be on record regardless of whether or not it was paid?

Second, my husband has 2 Capital one CCs. His limit is 350 on one, and 400 on the other. For the 350, we try and keep it less than $75/month, and pay it off at the end of each month. For the other one, we try and keep it less than $100.00 and pay it off as well.

It really aggravated me that my bank does not report his $8000.00 auto loan. He has paid it on time (289/month) and most of the time we pay $350/month, with only $5000 remaining on this loan. Do most small banks report if you ask them to?

My thoughts are: WHAT IF: We only used less than $20/each on the credit cards, and paid them off each month for 3-4 months. Would his score go up then? Would it be better to not pay them off each month?

Just wanted to add this bit of information about the CC and judgement to try and get some help. It's very frustrating.

BTW, for the person wondering about me. I do have a credit card, paid off monthly, my score is in the 680s, but I am a stay at home mom, so the chances of me getting the mortgage loan are much less.

Re: Can Someone Tell Me.....

It would be best if one card reports zero (paid off) and the other one has a balance of less than 10% of the credit line, that way your husband will maximize his score. If he can get his bank to report his monthly payments on the auto loan that would be great. Just ask the bank, see what they will do. Just reducing the balances on the credit cards ought to help. Your husband might consider getting a Jared's card too if you aren't getting the mortgage for another few months. I say that because the Jared's credit people give very large lines and you don't need high scores to get a very good credit line. That will help your husband with his utility which will increase his score. The inquiry will give an initial ding that 's why I said do it if the mortgage application is not for several (6+) months.

Re: Can Someone Tell Me.....

No. You should use more credit. You should use 75-80% of the credit limit and then pay it off in full each month and repeat. I encourage your husband to contact Capital One and ask for a credit limit increase and a Product Conversion of one of his cards to the Cash Rewards card. The limits seem too low for the Cash Rewards card. How long has he had his cards with Cap1? If you don't get anything changed by calling and talking to a rep, I suggest you email the Executive Office as many have received tremendous help by going that route. I would visit the credit card forum to find out how to email the Executive Office.

Also, what kind of credit card do you have?, what's the balance and credit limit? Depending on your answers to those questions, it may be beneficial for you to add him as an authorized user to your credit card. This could give him a nice boost if the credit card is used responsibly.

A lot of people here say that they seen the biggest boost in credit score from utilization when they paid all but one card down to zero and left a 7% balance on one card.

Ideally, you want to use credit richly to show lenders you can manage credit. You should put as much of your living expenses on credit as possible without maxing them out. Maxed out is when your balance is 90% of the limit so charge no more than 75-80%. Charging very little on your cards each month shows lenders you are apprehensive about credit and that sends a red flag to lenders that you might not be able to handle more credit. Charge all your bills, groceries, food, etc on your credit cards and pay them in full each month, it is that simple. I charge $1500-$2000 on one card ($2500 limit) and $500 to my other card ($1100 limit) each month and pay in full by the due date. To have the paid in full balance reflected on your credit report, you must pay the balance in full before the statement cuts. This is how you effectively manage credit to show lenders you are worthy of a mortgage loan which is the biggest chunk of credit you will ever have. The low limits on your husband's cards are hurting him too.

Re: Can Someone Tell Me.....

I disagree. I'm living proof. I have been doing it every month since July. You can't knock it until you try it. It is analogous to paying every card to zero except one and leave one card at 7%...you can't knock it until you try it. As neither of those tips are in any manual on how to manage credit. I spend part of my time on the credit card forum learning from the pros...the folks that have $50,000 in credit limit. I wouldn't have my Chase Freedom in my wallet today if it weren't for them on that forum, and I am very serious when I say that and I mean it.

The way you get bigger limits is by charging more...but not too much like I said. My Orchard Bank card sat at $300 when I first got it, and it climbed to $1100 over a period of two years. When I spent 75% of $1100, it showed Capital One I needed at least $1100 on their card if not more. When you hear of someone that has a unsecured card with a limit of $400 and that has been sitting at that limit for more than a year, you know they are doing something wrong.

When you charge very little to your cards, it shows credit card lenders you don't need more credit and since you only use $20 out of $400, lenders say $400 is sufficient. Having low limit cards hurts you...even the fico score simulator shows it. It may not simulate accurately, but that particular piece of simulation is there because it has an impact on your score. Plus, when you get higher limits, and during a time when you are NOT buying a house, you can charge a big ticket item on your card that may only be 7% utility on a card with a $15K limit versus 50-90% of a low limit card. The higher limit card allows you to be able to take advantage of 0% APR for a big ticket item and carry a balance without it negatively impacting one's score because the utilization is less than 10%!

Also, if you don't use your credit cards to the max potential, you don't reap as many rewards. The more you charge, the more 1% or 5% cash back means to you. In order to get $98 of cash back from July to now, I had to charge at least $1500 to the card every month. And all my charges are bills, groceries, etc. that I would have paid cash/debit for but instead used my credit card. You can see how little someone will make in Cash Back if they charge only $20 a month. That is less than $5 a year in Cash Back...not even enough to offset the annual fee! That is a waste of a good rewards program that pays you simply for using the lenders card, and a waste of the annual fee you paid for the card.

Re: Can Someone Tell Me.....

One last thing...I wouldn't recommend getting any major type of rewards card like the Chase Sapphire that has a large annual fee, if you don't use credit generously because you will waste your money. These cards provide $100-$500 in cash just for spending $500-$3,000 in the first 3 months. Low spenders will never get the rewards. So it is best to just carry plain vanilla cards with low or no fees and no rewards.

Re: Can Someone Tell Me.....

You can't do it just once and maxing it out cards does not look good to lenders. 90% of the limit is considered maxed out. Lenders that are reviewing your credit want to see a high balance to show you are using the card fruitfully, but not too high. There has to be a pattern of this not just one occurrence. You also have to be proactive and not reactive when seeking higher limits. These two go hand in hand. It isn't all about score even though the final result is a higher score. There are steps that I outlined in my previous posts that you have to take to get there. It isn't a one step then results thing.

Re: Can Someone Tell Me.....

I understand your concept if looking for higher limits, but even in that concept If Im paying it off in full then it doesnt show on my statements and then doesnt show on my credit reports. But I can see how you can take the initial hit in UTIL and then the following month start paying in full.

As far as credit scoring purposes it really is not necessary. I am also living proof as my credit was down in the dumps for several years.

I am not debating of what worked for you or myself. Too many different scenarios take place from one report to another.

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